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they were boasting, when one of them, wishing to resolve their dispute, said, "Why do we, fellow soldiers, boast in vain, when it is possible not in words, but in deeds, to show right now what good men they are with the enemy present?" Therefore, the man's counsel seemed good and they immediately attacked the enemy. They, astonished by the suddenness, turned their backs to their attackers, and since the pursuit lasted for a long time, the plain in between was strewn with corpses, and Chrysocheir himself also fell then, and many were taken alive and sent to the emperor as prisoners, and the head of Chrysocheir itself. When Ignatios the patriarch passed away to the abodes 422 yonder, who for eleven years in all had steered the rudders of the church, Photios for the second time was raised by Basil to the throne of the high priesthood. A plot being contrived against the emperor did not go unnoticed. Wherefore its leader, Romanos Kourkouas, had his eyes cut out, and those who conspired with him were tortured and, having had their hair shorn, were condemned to exile. And now, with the spring dawning, he marched out against Syria, having with him one of his sons, Constantine, and he took some of the fortresses, while some surrendered to him, having grown fearful on account of the capture of the others. Then he attacked Germanikeia and having ravaged its suburbs, he came to the city of Adana and besieged it. But as its citizens were indifferently disposed toward the siege, Basil asked them in whom they trusted that they did not come to him, with the city already on the verge of being taken. And one of the advanced in years said that he knew precisely that "it is not fated for the city to be taken by you now, 423 but by another of those descended from your loins, Constantine by name." But when the emperor pointed to his son and said, "This is Constantine," that old man said, "This is not the Constantine by whom our city will be taken, but some other one of your descendants." Therefore, angered at the old man's prophecies, Basil attacked the siege more strongly. But since he accomplished nothing, and a cold spell that had set in greatly afflicted the army, he abandoned the siege and thought of returning, having ordered the prisoners of war to be killed, so that they would not require a guard or start a revolt if they got the chance. But the Hagarenes from Tarsus and Melitene were overrunning the Roman lands, against whom the general Andreas went out and checked their attacks. And when the emir of Tarsus wrote to him, "The son of Mary will not help you at all when I come against you," he hung the blasphemous letter on an icon of the Theotokos, saying, "Repay the arrogant one, O mistress, the reward for his insolence." And having said these things, he pro424ceeded against the blasphemer, and a battle having been joined, the enemies are turned to flight, and a great slaughter of them takes place, and the emir himself is also slain, with a few of them escaping. But the general, being envied, was slandered on the grounds that, although he was able to take Tarsus, he had not been willing to. For this reason the emperor took the command from him, and gave it to Stypeiotes, who promised and boasted youthfully to sack Tarsus and accomplish many other things; who not only accomplished none of the things he had boasted of, but also fell into a disaster out of carelessness and an ill-considered encampment. For the barbarians, knowing that his camp was unguarded, attacked him by night and killed many, and most were destroyed, being trampled by one another; and thus the men of Hagar prevailed. But eastern affairs were in this state, and western affairs were in a worse condition. For both Italy, which was subject to the Roman emperors, and most of Sicily had become tributary to the Carthaginians during the reign of Michael, and indeed many other nations 425 as well. For the Hagarenes from Carthage, having equipped a fleet, took many towns, and finally were besieging also Ragusa. Therefore the Ragusans sent an embassy to the emperor Basil, asking for aid from him; and he one hundred to them

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ἐμεγαλαύχουν, εἷς τις λῦσαι τὴν ἔριν σφίσι βουλόμενος "ἵνα τί μάτην" φησί "συστρατιῶται θρασυνόμεθα, ἐνὸν μὴ λόγοις, ἀλλ' ἔργοις ἄρτι φανῆναι τίνες ἄνδρες εἰσὶν ἀγαθοὶ τῶν πολεμίων παρόντων;" ἔδοξεν οὖν ἡ βουλὴ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀγαθὴ καὶ αὐτίκα τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐπέθεντο. οἱ δὲ τῷ αἰφνιδίῳ καταπλαγέντες νῶτα τοῖς βάλλουσιν ἔτρεψαν, καὶ τῆς διώξεως ἐπὶ πολὺ γενομένης κατεστρώθη τὸ μεταξὺ πεδίον νεκροῖς, καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Χρυσόχειρ ἔπεσε τότε, καὶ πολλοὶ δ' ἐζωγρήθησαν καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐστάλησαν δέσμιοι, καὶ αὐτὴ δ' ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ Χρυσόχειρος. Ἰγνατίου δὲ τοῦ πατριάρχου μεταστάντος εἰς τὰς ἐκεῖθεν 422 μονάς, ὃς ἕνδεκα ἔτη τὰ πάντα τοὺς τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἴθυνεν οἴακας, ὁ Φώτιος τὸ δεύτερον παρὰ τοῦ Βασιλείου εἰς τὸν τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης θρόνον ἀνάγεται. ἐπιβουλὴ δὲ συσκευαζομένη κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως οὐκ ἔλαθεν. ὅθεν ὁ μὲν ἐξάρχων αὐτῆς Ῥωμανὸς ὁ Κουρκούας ἐξεκόπη τὰ ὄμματα, οἱ δὲ τούτῳ συνομοσάμενοι αἰκισθέντες καὶ καρέντες τὴν τρίχωσιν ὑπερορίαν κατεδικάσθησαν. Ἤδη δὲ τοῦ ἔαρος ἀναλάμποντος ἐκστρατεύει κατὰ τῆς Συρίας τὸν ἕνα τῶν υἱῶν τὸν Κωνσταντῖνον ἔχων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ εἷλε τῶν φρουρίων τινά, ἔνιοι δὲ προσεχώρησαν αὐτῷ διὰ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων ἅλωσιν δειλιάσαντες. εἶτα τῇ Γερμανικείᾳ προσβάλλει καὶ τὰ προάστεια δῃώσας αὐτῆς ἀφίκετο πρὸς πόλιν τὴν Ἄδαταν καὶ ταύτην ἐπολιόρκει. ὀλιγώρως δὲ πρὸς τὴν πολιορκίαν διακειμένων τῶν πολιτῶν αὐτῆς ἤρετο αὐτοὺς ὁ Βασίλειος ὅτῳ πεποιθότες οὐ προσέρχονταί οἱ, ἤδη τῆς πόλεως ἁλισκομένης. καί τις τῶν χρόνῳ προβεβηκότων φησὶν ἀκριβῶς εἰδέναι ὡς "οὐχ ὑπὸ σοῦ πέπρωται τὴν πόλιν ἁλῶναι νυνί, 423 ἀλλ' ὑφ' ἑτέρου τῶν ἐξ ὀσφύος καταγομένων τῆς σῆς Κωνσταντίνου τὴν κλῆσιν." τοῦ δὲ βασιλέως τὸν υἱὸν ἐπιδείξαντος καί "οὗτος ὁ Κωνσταντῖνός ἐστι" φήσαντος, ὁ γηραιὸς ἐκεῖνος "οὐχ οὗτος" εἶπεν "ὁ Κωνσταντῖνός ἐστιν, ὑφ' οὗ ἡμῶν ἡ πόλις ἁλώσεται, ἕτερος δέ τις τῶν ἀπογόνων τῶν σῶν." μηνίσας οὖν ἐπὶ τοῖς τοῦ πρεσβύτου προμαντεύμασιν ὁ Βασίλειος κραταιότερον τῇ πολιορκίᾳ ἐπέθετο. ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐδὲν ἤνυε, καὶ ψῦχος δὲ γεγονὸς ἐλύπει σφόδρα τὸ στράτευμα, τὴν πολιορκίαν λιπὼν ἐπανόδου ἐμέμνητο, τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους ἀναιρεθῆναι προστάξας, ἵνα μὴ φυλακῆς δέωνται ἤ τι νεωτερίσωσιν ἀδείας λαβόμενοι. Οἱ δ' ἐκ Ταρσοῦ καὶ Μελιτηνῆς Ἀγαρηνοὶ τὰς Ῥωμαϊκὰς κατέτρεχον χώρας, οἷς ἀντεπιὼν ὁ στρατηλάτης Ἀνδρέας τὰς ὁρμὰς αὐτῶν ἀνέκοπτεν. ἐπιστείλαντος δὲ αὐτῷ τοῦ ἀμηρᾶ τῆς Ταρσοῦ ὡς "οὐδέν σε ὁ τῆς Μαρίας υἱὸς ὀνήσει κατὰ σοῦ ἐπιόντος μου," ἐκεῖνος τὴν βλάσφημον ἐπιστολὴν εἰκόνος τῆς θεομήτορος ἐξηρτήσατο, "ἀνταπόδος τῷ ἀλαζόνι" λέγων "ὦ δέσποινα, τοῦ φρυάγματος τὰ ἐπίχειρα." καὶ ταῦτα εἰπὼν ἐχώ424 ρει κατὰ τοῦ βλασφημήσαντος, καὶ μάχης κροτηθείσης τρέπονται οἱ πολέμιοι, καὶ γίνεται τούτων φόνος πολύς, καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ ἀμηρᾶς ἀποσφάττεται, μετρίων διαφυγόντων τινῶν. φθονηθεὶς δὲ ὁ στρατηλάτης διεβέβλητο ὡς δυνάμενος καὶ τὴν Ταρσὸν ἐξελεῖν οὐκ ἠθέλησε. διὸ ἀφαιρεῖται μὲν τὴν ἀρχὴν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, δίδωσι δὲ ταύτην τῷ Στυππειώτῃ ἐπαγγελλομένῳ καὶ τὴν Ταρσὸν ἐκπορθῆσαι καὶ ἄλλα πλείω κατωρθωκέναι νεανιευομένῳ· ὃς οὐ μόνον ὧν ηὔχει οὐδὲν κατωρθώκει, ἀλλὰ καὶ δυστυχήματι περιπέπτωκεν ἐξ ἀμελείας καὶ ἀπερισκέπτου σκηνώσεως. γνόντες γὰρ οἱ βάρβαροι τὸ ἐκείνου στρατόπεδον ἀφυλάκτως ἔχον, νυκτὸς αὐτῷ ἐπιτίθενται καὶ ἀναιροῦσι πολλούς, οἱ πλείους δ' ὑπ' ἀλλήλων συμπατούμενοι διεφθείροντο· καὶ οὕτως ὑπερέσχον οἱ ἐκ τῆς Ἄγαρ. ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἑῷα τοῦτον ἔσχε τὸν τρόπον, χειρόνως δὲ διέκειντο τὰ ἑσπέρια. Ἥ τε γὰρ τοῖς Ῥωμαίων βασιλεῦσιν ὑπήκοος Ἰταλία καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα τῆς Σικελίας ὑπόφορα τοῖς Καρχηδονίοις ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Μιχαὴλ γεγόνασιν, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ ἄλλα τῶν ἐθνῶν 425 πλείονα. στόλον γὰρ ἐξαρτύσαντες οἱ ἐκ Καρχηδόνος Ἀγαρηνοὶ πολλὰ μὲν εἷλον πολίσματα, τέλος δ' ἐπολιόρκουν καὶ τὸ Ῥαούσιον. στέλλουσιν οὖν οἱ Ῥαούσιοι πρεσβείαν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Βασίλειον, ἐπικουρίαν παρ' αὐτοῦ ἐξαιτούμενοι· καὶ ὃς ἑκατὸν αὐτοῖς